MYSTERY ON THE ISLES OF SHOALS
Closing the Case on the Smuttynose Ax Murders of 1873
The cold-blooded ax murder of two innocent Norwegian women at their island home off the coast of New Hampshire has gripped the region since 1873, beguiling tourists, inspiring artists, and fueling conspiracy theorists.
The killer, a handsome Prussian fisherman down on his luck, was quickly captured, convicted in a widely publicized trial, and hanged in an unforgettable gallows spectacle. But he never confessed and, while in prison, gained a circle of admirers whose blind faith in his innocence still casts a shadow of doubt. A fictionalized bestselling novel and a Hollywood film (Weight of Water) have falsified the facts.
Finally a definitive "whydunnit" account of the Smuttynose Island ax murders has arrived. Popular historian J. Dennis Robinson fleshes out the facts surrounding this tragic robbery gone wrong in a captivating true crime page-turner. Robinson delves into the backstory at the rocky Isles of Shoals as an isolated centuries-old fishing village was being destroyed by a modern luxury hotel. He explores the neighboring island of Appledore where Victorian poet Celia Thaxter entertained the elite artists and writers of Boston. It was Thaxter's powerful essay about the murders in the Atlantic Monthly that shocked the American public.
Robinson goes beyond the headlines of the burgeoning yellow press to explore the deeper lessons about American crime, justice, economics, and hero worship. Ten years before the Lizzie Borden ax murder trial and the fictional Sherlock Holmes, Americans met a sociopath named Louis Wagner—and many came to love him.
TRUE CRIME/ HISTORY
448 Pages/ Skyhorse Publishers
Available in hardcover, ebook, paperback, and Audible.com narration
The killer, a handsome Prussian fisherman down on his luck, was quickly captured, convicted in a widely publicized trial, and hanged in an unforgettable gallows spectacle. But he never confessed and, while in prison, gained a circle of admirers whose blind faith in his innocence still casts a shadow of doubt. A fictionalized bestselling novel and a Hollywood film (Weight of Water) have falsified the facts.
Finally a definitive "whydunnit" account of the Smuttynose Island ax murders has arrived. Popular historian J. Dennis Robinson fleshes out the facts surrounding this tragic robbery gone wrong in a captivating true crime page-turner. Robinson delves into the backstory at the rocky Isles of Shoals as an isolated centuries-old fishing village was being destroyed by a modern luxury hotel. He explores the neighboring island of Appledore where Victorian poet Celia Thaxter entertained the elite artists and writers of Boston. It was Thaxter's powerful essay about the murders in the Atlantic Monthly that shocked the American public.
Robinson goes beyond the headlines of the burgeoning yellow press to explore the deeper lessons about American crime, justice, economics, and hero worship. Ten years before the Lizzie Borden ax murder trial and the fictional Sherlock Holmes, Americans met a sociopath named Louis Wagner—and many came to love him.
TRUE CRIME/ HISTORY
448 Pages/ Skyhorse Publishers
Available in hardcover, ebook, paperback, and Audible.com narration
AUTHOR NOTES
This one was an obsession. I found (briefly) a NYC literary agent and publisher, raised a few dollars from kind sponsors, and immersed myself for two years in the only known homicides at the Isles of Shoals. I was going crazy, especially as a Smuttynose Island steward, with the fact that people kept falling for the fictional conspiracy theory that Maren Hontvet killed her sister and sister in law. When another Shoals historian died and left me almost 200 newspaper clippings about the murders, I set about to tell the story in the style of DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY. I refused to focus on the blood and guts of the crime, but took a wide look at the reasons why Louis Wagner did the deed, his trial, and how the facts got turned around into the fictional Weight of Water novel. I've given my "murder talk" dozens of times and am doing what I can to mix history with a compelling read. This one has been wonderfully narrated on Audible.com and moved to paperback and ebook. You can see much more on my website SmuttynoseMurders.com.
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